Trapped in Time
The only hope for the future lies in the past.
by Lee Hardesty
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Pub Date 14 Jul 2025 | Archive Date 15 Mar 2026
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Description
When an adventurer is trapped in the distant past, the only person who can save him is his own granddaughter. The problem? She hasn’t been born yet.
When John Hamman found the time machine, he didn’t know what adventures it would lead him on, and he could not predict the sequence of events that would strand him in the distant past. Can he shape a future that will one day save him from his own mistakes?
Jenny Hamman was a child when her grandfather showed her the dinosaur tooth he wore on a cord around his neck. That moment set the trajectory of her life. Jenny had no idea of the dangers she would one day face. Only she can save her grandfather. Her existence and that of everyone she loves hangs in the balance.
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Sneak Peak:
Jenny wasn’t sure what woke her, some instinct that death was near. Perhaps it breathed on her. Jenny opened her eyes but only saw darkness. The smell made her freeze. It was a fetid smell of rotten meat, the smell of a lion or hyena that fed on carrion.
She had covered herself with cut ferns, but she could turn her head slightly and look up where she saw patches of the stars through the trees on this moonless night. Then a shape moved above her and blotted out the stars. She heard a huffing sound, and that fetid breath blew down on her like a wind.
She drew her gun and fired up into the shadow looming above her. The flash from the muzzle of the High Power lit up the inside of its mouth like a flashbulb, as she fired the gun down its throat. All she saw was teeth.
Jenny screamed, the sound lost as she pulled the trigger over and over, emptying the magazine of the gun as fast as she could. She pulled her arm back as the jaws snapped shut. In the flashes she saw a great head pull back. She kept firing, and then the slide locked back on the empty magazine.
She was engulfed in a darkness more complete than she had ever known, her night vision ruined. That void was filled with a roar. It was more than a sound. It surrounded her and shook her very core.
Blindly, she grabbed for the spear that laid beside her as she slept, and crawled away through the ferns that covered the ground. Through the ringing in her ears, she heard a crashing behind her as the great head smashed through the brush where she had been, its jaws closing on her resting place. Jenny made it to her feet and took off running.
She might have been safe if it hadn’t been for the tree. She hit it straight on at full speed, and all she remembered was pain. Laying on her back, she had her spear and the empty gun was still in her hand. She felt it in the ground. It shook beneath her. The dinosaur was coming.
A Note From the Publisher
Something else that became far more interesting then I expected was the paleontology in the book. It turns out that new discoveries are being made every day. Because the characters are separated by decades it gave an opportunity to examine how our understanding of dinosaurs has changed over the years. From John from the 1920's to his granddaughter from 2002, and finally the professor from our time. John expects them to be lizards but is confused when he finds many of them are more like birds. Jenny is kind of post revolution when ideas like warm bloodedness and feathers were on the table for discussion but she has missed out on the last twenty years of research that confirmed much of this. The professor is a smaller character but I was able to include a few ideas like tracking migration patterns through gastroliths, stomach stones. I found that in a recent paper.
On a final note, all the guns, and calibers are real and period appropriate. Some of them are even featured in my "Reference Library", you might call a closet. I do not own a Tankgewehr or a Neostead. Wish I did but those were solutions that I had to look up that would be appropriate for the period.
I hope you enjoy the book as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Marketing Plan
You can find the book on Amazon in print and E-book. It is also distributed through Draft2Digital on Applebooks, Smashwords, Kobo, Everand, Tolino, Overdrive, CloudLibrary, Baker and Taylor, Odilo, Vivlio, BorrowBox, Palace Marketplace, Gardners, and Fable. I hope to have an Audiobook out soon but it is still in the works. It's easier to search for on some of these then on others.
Available Editions
| EDITION | Ebook |
| ISBN | 9781968963026 |
| PRICE | US$4.95 (USD) |
| PAGES | 376 |
Available on NetGalley
Average rating from 5 members
Featured Reviews
eva e, Reviewer
"Trapped in Time" by Lee Hardesty is a multi-generational time travel action thriller that blends elements of science fiction, action-adventure, and mystery. The story features time travel and includes dangerous encounters with ancient creatures, such as dinosaurs. This mix of thrilling survival and a complex time-travel mystery creates a unique and engaging reading experience.
The plot unfolds across two distinct time periods: the distant past, featuring John Hammond, and the present with his granddaughter, Jenny. The book frequently shifts between these two timelines without clear transitions or a consistent structure. In the present, the narrative jumps between years like 1914, 1976, and 1981, often not in chronological order, which I found disorienting. At times, I had little clue about what was happening. I ended up reading it like a collection of short stories, where I enjoyed some, was indifferent to others, and didn't understand a few.
However, I loved the ending of the book; the epilogue made me laugh. It highlights how events shape the future.
Kathryn M, Reviewer
This uses the dinosaur element perfectly to tell the story and how well the characters were used to tell the storyline. I was engaged from start to finish and how it uses the dinosaurs perfectly. Lee Hardesty was able to weave a strong storyline and had that character element that I was looking for in this type of book.
Montzalee W, Reviewer
Trapped in Time
by Lee William Hardesty
I love a good dinosaur book and a time travel adventure if it's done right, and this certainly is written just right! I like the lead-up starting as a girl, being trained to hunt and shoot. This girl loves it but has no idea what she is really being trained for. It's exciting all the way through the book. The point of view bounces between the uncle and the girl. Present and past. I found it a refreshing new twist on an old story. The unique plot, great characters, and suspense mixed with touching moments enhanced this wonderful story.
I want to thank the publisher and NetGalley for letting me read this terrific sci-fi book!
Charity K, Reviewer
Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this one. I found the structure to be quite confusing, making it hard to really get connected to the story.
Reviewer 1676117
I don't normally give feedback on a DNF (did not finish) but I want to explain! The premise of this book sounded fantastic. I am a huge dinosaur fan and Jurassic Park fan, so when I read the plot, I was hooked. However, this book just wasn't what I thought it would be. The writing style is not the type I personally enjoy, so I was judge skimming and trudging through it. I will say, the author uses a lot of words I had to look up, but I think that's a good thing. Part of reading is learning and those are great moments to learn new words and meanings. The writing is also a lot of narration, with hardly any conversation between people in the first portion I read (about 30% into the book), and I prefer more dialogue to help me get to know the characters. It is also not fast paced at all, which again, is just not my personal preference. If you decide to read it, you will however, learn a lot about history and science that is accurate (I believe that is also a good thing). So while this book does have merit and is well written, it just is not for me. So I want to give it a fair rating, hope this helps someone else decide if it is their cup of tea!
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